US10197513B2ActiveUtilityPatentIndex 65
Method and apparatus for estimation of heat value using dual energy x-ray transmission and fluorescence measurements
Est. expiryOct 11, 2033(~7.3 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
G01N 2223/045G01N 23/223G01N 33/46G01N 2223/619G01N 23/087G01N 2223/071G01N 33/22G01N 23/2206G01N 33/222
65
PatentIndex Score
5
Cited by
27
References
19
Claims
Abstract
A method and apparatus for estimating a heating value of a biological material. The method includes irradiating of the biological material with X-ray radiation of at least two different energy levels, measuring of an amount of radiation transmitted through the biological material at these energy levels, and measuring fluorescent radiation emitted by the biological material when irradiated at these energy levels. A final estimate of the heating value is then determined based on a preliminary estimate of the heating value of the biological material based on the measured transmitted radiation and a correction value based on the fluorescent radiation.
Claims
exact text as granted — not AI-modifiedThe invention claimed:
1. A method for estimating a heating value of a biological material, comprising:
irradiating the biological material with X-ray radiation of at least two different energy levels;
measuring an amount of X-ray radiation transmitted through said biological material at said at least two different energy levels;
measuring fluorescent X-ray radiation emitted by the biological material when irradiated at said at least two different energy levels; and
determining a final estimate of the heating value of said biological material, based on a preliminary estimate of the heating value of said biological material, wherein said preliminary estimate is based on said measured transmitted X-ray radiation, and a correction value, based on said measured fluorescent X-ray radiation.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the preliminary estimate of the heating value is based on said measured transmitted X-ray radiation in correlation with correlation values obtained by X-ray radiation transmitted through a number of different reference materials with known heating values.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluorescent X-ray radiation is used to determine the amount of at least one element having an atomic number greater than 10 in the biological sample, and to determine a correction value based on the determined amount of the at least one element.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the final estimated heating value comprises the step of subtracting the correlation value from the preliminary estimate of the heating value or adding the correlation value to the preliminary estimate of the heating value.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the correction value is determined by estimation of a spectrum integration over at least one energy band of the spectrum of the fluorescent X-ray radiation emitted by the biological material.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the spectrum integration is made in at least one energy band comprising at least one of: 1.5-10 keV and 25- 90 keV.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the spectrum integration is made over at least one energy corresponding to a spectrum peak characteristic of at least one of a heavy metal, calcium, potassium, silicon, magnesium and phosphorus.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the correction value is estimated as an addition of weighted spectrum integrations over specific energies or bands of energies of the fluorescence spectrum.
9. The method of claim 5 , wherein the spectrum integration is correlated to a corresponding reduction in heating value by means of measurements of known reference materials.
10. The method of claim 2 , wherein the determination of the preliminary estimate of the heating value comprises the steps of:
determining a quotient between transmission estimates based on said transmission values of two of said at least two energy levels, for each combination of said at least two energy levels;
multiplying each quotient with a coefficient for each quotient; and
adding said quotients multiplied by said coefficients,
wherein said coefficients are determined by said correlation.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the transmission estimates in said quotients between transmission elements are logarithmic quotients of a calibrated reference value for the transmission at the energy level and the measured transmission values through the biological material at the same energy level.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the quotients between said transmission estimates are K-values, said K-values being calculated as:
K
AB
=
ln
(
N
0
A
/
N
A
)
ln
(
N
0
B
/
N
B
)
wherein N 0 A, N 0 B are the calibrated reference values for the transmission at the two energy levels A and B, and NA, NB are the transmission values through the biological material at said energy levels.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the biological material is transported on a conveyor line, and wherein the biological material is irradiated with X-ray radiation, of at least two different energy levels, in a plane substantially perpendicular to a direction of advancement of said conveyor line.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the X-ray radiation of both said energy levels are emitted from a single X-ray radiation source operating in the energy range of 20-150 kVp.
15. An apparatus for estimating a heating value of a biological material, comprising:
an X-ray radiation source for irradiation of a biological material with X-ray radiation of at least two different energy levels;
a detector for receiving X-ray radiation transmitted through said biological material, said detector determining, for each energy level, the amount of X-ray radiation transmitted through the biological material;
a fluorescence detector for measuring fluorescent X-ray radiation emitted by the biological material when irradiated at said at least two different energy levels; and
a controller arranged to determine a final estimate of the heating value of said biological material based on a preliminary estimate of the heating value of said biological material, wherein said preliminary estimate is based on said measured transmitted X-ray radiation, and a correction value, based on said measured fluorescent X-ray radiation.
16. A method for estimating a heating value of a biological material, comprising:
irradiating the biological material with X-ray radiation of at least two different energy levels;
measuring an amount of X-ray radiation transmitted through said biological material at said at least two different energy levels;
measuring fluorescent X-ray radiation emitted by the biological material when irradiated at said at least two different energy levels; and
determining a final estimate of the heating value of said biological material, based on a preliminary estimate of the heating value of said biological material, wherein said preliminary estimate is based on said measured transmitted X-ray radiation, and a correction value, based on said measured fluorescent X-ray radiation, wherein the determination of the final estimated heating value comprises the step of subtracting the correlation value from the preliminary estimate of the heating value or adding the correlation value to the preliminary estimate of the heating value.
17. An apparatus for estimating a heating value of a biological material, comprising:
an X-ray radiation source for X-ray irradiation of a biological material with X-ray radiation of at least two different energy levels;
a detector for receiving X-ray radiation transmitted through said biological material, said detector determining, for each energy level, the amount of X-ray radiation transmitted through the biological material;
a fluorescence detector for measuring fluorescent X-ray radiation emitted by the biological material when irradiated at said at least two different energy levels; and
a controller arranged to determine a final estimate of the heating value of said biological material based on a preliminary estimate of the heating value of said biological material, wherein said preliminary estimate is based on said measured transmitted X-ray radiation, and a correction value, based on said measured fluorescent X-ray radiation, wherein the determination of the final estimated heating value comprises the step of subtracting the correlation value from the preliminary estimate of the heating value or adding the correlation value to the preliminary estimate of the heating value.
18. The method of claim 5 , wherein the spectrum integration is made in an energy band of 1.5-10 keV.
19. The method of claim 5 , wherein the spectrum integration is made in an energy band of 25- 90 keV.Cited by (0)
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